The capitol building, where Satiria suspected the fabled vault must be, was the widest, tallest building in the city, overrun by plant life. Kosgoris had the team stop in the plaza outside it and set up camp with their backs to the building, facing out at the rest of the sprawling ghost city. Everyone began unpacking.

“Firewood is going to be an issue,” Kosgoris told Theonis as they set up the cooking station. “It’s too far to haul large amounts back to our base.”

“We only need fire for food,” Theonis reminded him. “We’ll be fine.”

Kosgoris nodded, then quietly asked, “You remember us talking about how you felt out of place in Pelakevi, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Do you still feel that way?”

Theonis shrugged. “I guess not. At least, I feel like I have more in common with all of you and the rest of Pelakevi than I do people like Aylmer. I don’t know if I really feel like I belong yet, but I don’t really feel like an intruder anymore.”

“Glad to hear it,” Kosgoris replied, giving Theonis a pat on the back. “Make sure that the animals are all properly tied down, will you?”

Theonis nodded and moved to where the animals had gathered. It was a little difficult finding something to tie them down to, but Theonis finally just started tying them to what looked like a statue of a soldier. That done, he looked around for someone else who might need him.

Satiria was helping Myrova set up her own tent, so he walked over to see if he could lend a hand.

“These tents are too big,” Satiria muttered to Theonis as he approached. “Without all our normal supplies, there’s just too much space in these. We should have invested in something smaller.”

“Maybe we can sleep two to a tent?” Theonis offered.

“I might just do that. Myrova?” Myrova peaked from around the corner. “Let’s just skip my tent and share this one.”

Myrova nodded and disappeared again.

Turning to Theonis, Satiria said, “There’s a chance—maybe not a good one, but a chance—that we’ll end up seeing Aylmer once again before this is over. Are you ready for that?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Theonis replied, pulling at his hair nervously. “It’s easy to dismiss him when he’s not around, but every time I’m in his presence… He has some kind of control over me and I don’t understand it.”

“He’d probably be rather charming if not for how smug he is,” Satiria agreed. “But I believe in you, Theonis.”

“Thank you.”

Dimileios and Lias had already finished setting up their own tent and were just off to the side, talking quietly. Theonis snuck up behind them, listening attentively. It wasn’t a private conversation, so he dropped the stealthy attitude and just walked up to listen to them.

“Disappointing that I won’t get to map out what will easily be our greatest find ever,” Lias was lamenting. “Imagine everything we could learn about this city.”

“It’s a large city,” Dimileios replied. “The navy might need our help. But as disappointing as it is, the important thing is that we keep this place safe from our opponents. Don’t you agree, Theonis?”

“It’ll be nice for things to go back to normal,” Theonis said. “Expeditions are a lot of fun. At least, for me they are. I’m sick of how stressful this has been. If we have to go back to exploring small towns for things to be less tense, then I guess that’s just the price we have to pay.”

Kateni was just pacing around, occasionally glaring up at the empty windows in the surrounding buildings and muttering to herself. Everyone else was a little exhausted from stress, but Kateni seemed genuinely at the end of her rope. Theonis scurried over to her.

“Hey,” he said, matching her pace. “It’s going to be okay. We’ve got this. I bet Aylmer and his lackeys never even show up.”

“I don’t like the idea of everyone having to defend themselves,” Kateni admitted. “I’m supposed to protect everyone. How can I do that if a fight breaks out? We should have just sent the navy to secure the island. There was no point in putting everyone else in danger.”

“We still needed to prove that we’d found what we were looking for,” Theonis reminded her. “And there probably won’t even be a fight. Everything is going to work out fine.”

“There are five more days before the navy gets here,” Kateni said, shaking her head. “That’s too much time. He’ll be here before then. What if somebody gets hurt? What if Myrova gets hurt and she can’t heal herself?”

“Thinking about it isn’t going to make it more likely to happen,” Theonis assured her, touching Kateni’s arm gently and making her jump. “You’re only going to wear yourself out.”

Finally, Kateni stopped pacing and sighed.

“Alright,” she said. “I’ll try to focus on something else. You have your sword, right? And your dagger.”

“They’re with my things.”

“Good. Keep them on you at all times.”

They hadn’t brought many ingredients, but Theonis and Kosgoris were able to make a small stew that evening for dinner. They put the fire out as soon as they were done with it to preserve the little wood that they had and Theonis started handing out bowls to everyone. Myrova was sitting a little further out than the rest. Theonis brought her a bowl and asked, “Can I sit with you?”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” Myrova replied.

Everyone ate mostly in silence. A lantern was set up by the fire as the sun started to set and the shadows grew long. After everyone had finished eating, they sat quietly and stared off into the night.

“With our luck,” Lias said suddenly, “we won’t run into those explorers, but it’s going to turn out that there are a bunch of monsters living in the ruins.”

“Knock it off,” Satiria shot back. “We’re all dealing with enough already.”

Theonis glanced over at Myrova. She was watching him out of the corner of her eye, but said nothing. He took a deep breath and picked up a rock to play with it in his hands.

Finally, Dimileios stood up and said, “I suggest we all get to sleep soon. It’s going to be a long couple of days and some rest will do us good.”

He left, but for a while nobody else moved. Satiria was the next to stand up and leave, but without saying a word. After a while, Kosgoris muttered something to himself before standing up and heading to his own tent.

Theonis stared up at the sky, where he could see a blanket of stars in the gaps between clouds. Hopefully it wouldn’t rain while they were there. Beside him, Myrova released a long sigh and summoned up a little flame between her fingers to play with.

Lias was the next to get up and head to his tent. Finally, Kateni stood up and made her way to the small tent closest to where Theonis and Myrova were sitting. Once she was out of sight, the two relaxed and turned to face each other.

“So,” Myrova began, “are you any closer to figuring yourself out?”

“Honestly, Myrova, I’ve decided that I want to push all of that to the side for right now: being a girl, being attracted to men, all of that. I just want to focus on the mission for now. Everything else can wait until we’re safely back on the Polaia.”

“…If that’s what you want, Theonis. But I’d have thought that you’d… I don’t know. I can’t imagine what this is like for you. I just want you to be happy.”

“Well, you’ll be glad to know that I’ve settled on a name.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Theonis blushed. “I want to wait so I can tell everyone at once, though. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” A pause stretched between them. “I still think that, for now, it would be best if we put some space between us while you’re still figuring things out.”

“I’ll respect that if it’s what you want,” Theonis replied, but then asked, “What exactly is our relationship, though?”

“I don’t even know.” Myrova groaned and stared up at the stars. “I hear that some people have normal lives, believe it or not. Part of me wishes I’d become a baker like my father.”

“You’d give up all this?” Theonis asked.

“No, not if I had a choice. But I do wonder what our lives would have been if you and I hadn’t been put in really difficult situations to live through.”

“Well, I’m glad that things turned out the way that they did. I wouldn’t have met you, otherwise.”

“I suppose so. I think I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight.”

Theonis put out the lantern and started walking toward his own little tent. Along the way, he passed by Kateni’s tent. The flap was open just a bit and Theonis could see the shape of Kateni sitting up inside. She’d probably heard that entire conversation.

Once he was in his tent, Theonis curled up beneath his blanket and closed his eyes. The city was eerily silent. There wasn’t even the sound of scurrying animals. Theonis turned over and over on his mat, trying to get comfortable.

Only five more days of this, he told himself. Five more days and it was all over. Then they could move along and Theonis could  come out to all his friends and everything would be alright again. And he’d never have to think about Aylmer again, or the strange feelings that Aylmer stirred within him.

“Almost free,” he muttered to himself.

Theonis was up early to make breakfast the next morning. It was small, just a mix of vegetables and some bread. He took his plate and sat down next to Kateni, who had her sword sitting on the ground next to her.

“So,” he began, “did you hear the conversation last night?”

She grunted in reply.

“What did you think?”

Kateni shrugged and said, “I don’t see the point in hiding it when everyone already knows.”

Theonis blushed and tried to stammer a response before falling silent. Kateni scarfed down her food and set the plate down. She grabbed her weapon and stood up.

“I can swear that I hear things out there,” she said. “I’m going to take a look and make sure we’re secure.”

She was gone before anybody could respond.

“She’s not taking this well,” Kosgoris muttered.

“She’ll be fine,” Dimilieos insisted. “Now, here’s the plan. Myrova will stay at camp so she can alert us if anyone manages to slip past our patrols. I’ll patrol in the south with Theonis, and Kateni will take Satiria. Kosgoris, you’ll stay behind and—”

A large object crashed into the fire and toppled over, smashing the cooking station. Embers went flying, some landing on Theonis and causing him to yelp. The object rolled over and tried to pull itself to its feet, revealing it to be Kateni, clothes and skin burnt by the fire.

“You won’t have any trouble finding us!” a familiar voice declared.

Theonis sprang to his feet. Aylmer stood next to his assistant Eiscilla, who was carrying a large wooden staff with a red orb at the end of it. Behind them were at least two dozen men all carrying weapons.

Myrova raised her hands, but Eiscilla pointed the staff at her. A translucent green barrier surrounded Myrova. She blasted it with flames, but it wouldn’t yield. Kateni, despite having just been on fire and without a weapon anymore, charged at the group with a loud cry. Dimileios sprang after her, grabbing Kateni from behind and knocking her to the ground.

“Enough!” he told the struggling Kateni. “We’re clearly outmatched.”

“Smart man,” Aylmer said, leading his group forward a little. “Not smart enough, though. It was easier than I thought it would be to sneak up on you. Now, do me a favor and surrender peacefully so nobody gets hurt. I’m afraid our medic is… somewhat lacking in bedside manner, and there’s no need for any of Theonis’ friends to die.”

Dimileios climbed off of Kateni, scowling.

“Everyone,” he said, “stand down and cooperate with them.” To Aylmer, he continued, “We surrender.”

“I’m glad you could see reason.”

Aylmer had come prepared for this. His men chained the wrists and ankles of everyone, starting with Dimileios. Eiscilla eventually lowered the barrier around Myrova, but she had no less than three weapons pointed at her at any given time. When the man carrying chains got to Theonis, he raised his arms to comply, but Aylmer stepped in.

“I’m hoping that you had a chance to read my letter,” he told Theonis.

“I did,” Theonis replied, not looking directly at his smug, charming face or his disarming smile.

“Then I want you to know that my offer stands, Theonis. Join my work. You could have the entire world at your fingertips. And I guarantee your friends’ safety. No harm will come to them if you agree to work with me.”

He placed a gentle hand on Theonis’ shoulder, sending a tingle down his spine. Theonis finally locked eyes with Aylmer, hoping that, just this once, looks actually could kill a person. When that failed, he opened his mouth to spit at Aylmer, but closed it again.

Preserving his freedom was the only way that Theonis was going to be able to help his friends. If he was chained up too, then they were out of luck. He really had no choice, did he?

“You’re right,” Theonis said. “The world is too big to be stuck on a little ship searching for little treasures. I’m never going to be satisfied like this. I’ve been trying to deny it, but I need more. And I think that you can give that to me.”

Aylmer gave Theonis a sweet smile. From the corner of his eye, Theonis saw Lias sigh visibly and start muttering to himself. Satiria, though, was giving Theonis a long, hard stare. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod of encouragement. She knew, at least, what he was doing.

“Theonis,” Aylmer said, taking him by the arm and leading him away from his friends, “you can’t imagine how glad I am that you made the right choice. Your youth and energy will bring a wonderful new dimension to my future exploits, I’m sure of it. There will be long dinners in my cabin where we can get to know each other, and you’ll have the pick of the finest dresses and jewelry.”

“What are you doing?!” Eiscilla had stormed up to them, red in the face. “Have you lost your mind, Aylmer?! She’s the enemy!”

Aylmer’s expression grew dark as he turned to Eiscilla. Her face fell and she, seemingly unconsciously, took a step back. The staff in her hands made her perhaps the most powerful person there, but she was shaking slightly.

“Don’t question my decisions, Eiscilla,” he whispered icily.

Eiscilla took one last look at Theonis before scurrying away. Theonis took the opportunity to pull himself out of Aylmer’s grip.

“Can I get a moment alone?” he asked.

“Of course.” Aylmer’s voice was back to being a warm honey.

Theonis walked up the steps of the capital building a bit before stopping and sitting down. He watched as his friends were led away and the animals were untied and their tents were slashed up. What was he supposed to do? Theonis was alone, he was unarmed except for his ring, and he was hopelessly, utterly out of his depth.